How to Manually Update Drivers in Windows 7?

How to Manually Update Drivers in Windows 7?

When system peripherals create a problem, the simplest workaround we come to know while troubleshooting those errors is to learn how to manually update drivers in windows 7, and that’s what we will be teaching you today!

System drivers are the set of instructions which helps your computer interact with the specific hardware associated with it. If drivers wouldn’t be there, your windows wouldn’t have any idea on how to deal with those hardware and your computer starts creating the problems.

When the manufacturers tweak the software associated with that particular hardware, the drivers need to get updated to its latest version available. Keeping the windows drivers up to date is a must for the flawless and smooth system experiences.

If you have upgraded windows to the latest version, chances are your system audio has stopped working or the audio is not of that quality it used to be. If anything such happens, probably your sound drivers have got outdated and it’s an alarm that you need to update it.

Similarly, if windows upgradations, system format or any similar activity has caused you a problem in watching videos, playing games and doing other system tasks, probably it’s time for you to upgrade your windows drivers.

If you detect any such issues in your computer, learning How To Update Drivers windows 7 is the only option you are left with. This guide is dedicated to teaching you windows 7 driver updates including how to update graphics driver, driver update software and everything important.

How to Manually Update Drivers in Windows 7

There are more than one ways that you can update your system drivers. You can do it by following the system updates, using the manufacturer’s software and manually, of course.

This guide is compiled to teaching you how to update drivers manually in windows 7 but we will give you a quick overview of other methods too. Also, all the steps mentioned are applicable in all the above versions of windows including windows 8, 8.1, windows vista and windows 10. So let’s get started.

Step 1. The process of updating the drivers starts with the device manager so the first step is to reach out to device manager window.

To begin the process, click on the start menu and go to Control panel and click the Device Manager. See the screenshot below.

Alternatively, right-click My Computer and select Manage.

On doing that, Computer Management windows will open up. Now click Device Manager in the left pane.

Step 2. In the device manager window, a list of all the hardware attached to your computer is given. See the below screenshot to understand the options.

To update the driver for any hardware, double-click the hardware option and a hierarchy of the driver option will be loaded. Now double click the driver you want to update.

For instance, we want to update sound drivers for this system. Double-click the Sound, video and game controllers and the list of audio drivers in your windows will load. Now double click driver option you want to update and another properties window for that driver will pop-up.

Have a look at the below screenshot to understand the options.

Step 3. Now go to the driver tab and click the Update Driver button in order to update the drivers.

Alternatively, you can also reach out to this window by right-clicking the driver option and selecting Update Driver Software.

Step 5. In the Update Driver Software window, select the second option i.e. “Browse my computer for driver software” if you have the latest driver file downloaded on your computer.

Else, select the option Search automatically for updated driver software. When given this command, windows will start searching for the latest driver updated for your windows on the web and you will see the following message.

Step 6. If there is an updated driver available, windows will start downloading it on your computer automatically and you will see a success message saying Windows has successfully updated your driver software. Just click the Close button and you are done.

So these are instructions for updating the drivers manually. By following these instructions you can update intel graphics driver update, sound driver, and every other driver except Nvidia driver update.

If you are using Nvidia graphics card, here’s how to update the drivers to its latest version.

Step 1. The first step is to detect the graphics card model and OS type on your computer. Once both of them are found, you can update the Nvidia driver from its official website. For this, press windows+R keys, type in dxdiag in the run window and press enter.

Step 2. In the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, see the OS type under System Information. See the screen below.

Now go to the Display tab and check for the graphics type of your windows next to the chip type.

Once yo have successfully found both of them, head over to the next step.

Step 3. Now go to the official website of Nvidia i.e. Nvidia.com and hover your cursor over Drivers. Fill all the details required and search for the latest driver available. If there is any latest driver available suiting your requirements, download it on your computer and run the installer file. The driver would be downloaded soon after.

So that’s all you need to know about Howto manually update drivers in Windows 7.

As promised above, it’s time to give you a quick overview of other two methods to update drivers in the windows.

The first method by checking for the windows updates. Type in Windows Update in the search bar and press enter. You will see the following screen.

If there are updates available, click Install now and you are done. The third way you can do that is by going to the manufacturer’s website and updating the drivers and installing them. Or you can also do that by the software CD you get from the manufacturer.

That’s it for this tutorial. For any doubts or queries, you can drop us a comment below. And if you found the guide helpful, feel free to share it with your friends.

Sonam is an IT engineer by education and passionate freelance writer/blogger by profession. She is a tech enthusiast and loves to read and write about technology. Her hobbies include reading, watching TV, delving into new things and creating interesting content to help people with all things tech!!

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How to Watch Game of Thrones Online?

So, you want to know how to watch Game of Thrones online, right? Given that it is a premium series from HBO, finding a way to stream the same online is one hell of a task.

Still, I have found a few methods to do it. Some of them want you to visit live streaming sites. Not every link on such websites works, though.

Yeah, you can watch Game of Thrones free online. I have included both the free and paid ways as well.

Shall we begin? Here you go!

How to Watch Game of Thrones Online?

There are multiple ways to stream the series online. I have picked up a few and coined them to make this post. You can read each one of them below.

Method 1: Use Official HBO Go or HBO Now Subscription

I know you are not going to like this. Still, HBO Go and Now are two popular methods used for Game of Thrones online streaming. Maybe, you are also using it and need a free way to eliminate the expense.

HBO Go and Now are not completely different services. The former needs a cable TV subscription whereas the second one is a standalone service from HBO.

The cost for each of them varies. The cable TV provider determines the cost of HBO Go for you. It can start from as low as $15 per month whereas the charge for HBO Now is fixed.

You can get access to both the services using multiple devices including PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Play Station, Xbox, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast Amazon Fire TV etc.

The best thing about these official services is, you can avail the latest episode of the series as soon as they send it on air.

You can watch previous seasons and episodes as well. With HBO Now subscription, you will get access to a talk show called After the Thrones, in which Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan are featured.

Method 2: Use WatchSeries Site

You may be exhausted with the premium options to watch Game of Thrones. Maybe, you might have cursed me for giving you a paid option at first.

Don’t worry! You can use watchseries.li to watch Game of Thrones free online. Just follow the steps given below for that.

Step 1: Obviously, you have to visit the site watchseries. Being a free online streaming site, it will show some advertisements. You need to be patient given that what you get is worth $15 per month.

Step 2: What you see once you visit the website is given below.

You can see the search field just below the top navigation bar, can’t you? Type the name of the series (game of thrones here) into it and press enter. (Most probably, it will show suggestions among which you can choose the right one).

Step 3: I have checked about half a dozen sites. Some of them lack Game of Thrones. Some others contain only one series or a few episodes. Unlike all, watchseries has all six seasons and the entire episodes in their database.

Just select the episode you want under the appropriate season, and you will be presented with a ton links (literally). All of them answer one question; where to watch Game of Thrones.

As I said earlier, not every link on the episode page may work. And for the working links, you may have to sign up for an account as well.

The best way to find working, no-signup links is trial and error. Click on each one by one and, you will get to know which one works and which one doesn’t.

Method 3: Use Hotstar

If you don’t mind paying a few bucks to watch a fantasy thriller series, you won’t have to ask where can I watch Game of Thrones anymore. I have got a convenient method for you especially if you are an Indian.

Have you heard of Hotstar? If you are from India, I know you might have used it multiple times to watch cricket and football. Most of you would have visited it to watch Olympic games as well.

Do you know Hotstar gives paid subscription to Game of Thrones? Yeah, you just heard it right!

You need to be a premium subscriber at first. Don’t worry! It will not charge you a whopping amount. All it takes is 199 INR per month.

The best thing about it is you can avail the service free for the first month.

Step 1: Click on this link to bring you to the paid subscription page.

Step 2: Hit the Start Your Free Trial button. You will have to provide your email address and a password then. It is also possible to sign up with Facebook.

Step 3: On the next page, they will ask your credit card details. Don’t worry! You can create a virtual card and use it here without any issues.

There you go! Once the payment is processed, you will get access to their premium content.

Of course, GoT (Game of Thrones) is included in their list of premium media.

Method 4: Use any other Streaming Website

For Game of Thrones free streaming, you can use any other site. I have got a list of such sites below. Use any of them to watch your favourite TV shows.

During my research for this article, I have also found a Google Drive folder with a few series in it. Unfortunately, GoT was not present.

How to Use the Undo and Redo Commands?

I cannot even recount that how many times the undo and redo shortcuts have saved my life. These are one hell of a gem and have been a life savior, at least for me. Since you have landed here then you might be interested to know how to use the undo and redo commands, right.

So, this article will tell you how to use the undo and redo commands along with step by step guide.

So, without wasting any time further, let’s dive deep into this and explore. So, let’s get started:

How to undo and redo?

Okay, you want to take a step back or two, you can easily do that using an undo command. But the key point to take a note is that this is entirely controlled by the software on which you are trying to apply the undo commands. Some of them allow multiple undo’s while some of them allow a single one. For example, MS paint allows a single undo while in Adobe Illustrator you can perform multiple undo operations.

So, in this section, we will see how to undo and redo in some of the major softwares.

We will first go to MS office. How to undo and redo in MS office? So, let’s get started:

Step #1: First of all, you are required to open MS Word on your system. We are taking MS Word for illustration purposes; you can go with any of its products. Once you have opened MS Word, then you now need to move on to the next steps for further proceedings.

Step #2: Perform any action to an existing Word document or a blank document. After that, if you wish to undo your operation then press “CTRL + z.” This will revert your changes.

Additionally, if you want to redo an action then you are required to press “CTRL + y.” This way you can quickly perform the redo operation in Word.

Alternatively, in previous versions of MS Office, you may find the edit option from which you can also perform the same task by clicking on the undo and redo options.

Let’s see how it can be done in MS paint.

Step #1: First of all, you will have to launch MS Paint on your system. Once you have done that, open the desired image file, or you can even create something of your own.

Step #2: Oh, you made a mistake and wanted to undo the action. Press “CTRL + Z” to get back a step back. If you want the redo the step then just press “CTRL + Y” to get the needful results.

Moving on, we will see how to redo and undo in Adobe Photoshop. So, let’s get started:

Step #1: Open Adobe Photoshop on your system. Once launched, you are now required to open any existing project on which you want to perform these actions.

Step #2: Now, if you want to undo or redo your steps, you have two options, either you can go with the usual “CTRL + Z” keyboard shortcut which will get you exactly one step back, or you can go to edit option and then select the appropriate option from there.

Alternatively, to undo your steps, you can also go to the history section of Photoshop from where you can also see what steps you have gone through till now. To go to history, you need to click on the Window option from the top navigation menu and the locate the history option. Once found, you need to click on it. This may open a history panel from the right side from where you have a look at your steps.

Now, if you wish you can select the desired steps that you want to undo and then delete them by clicking on the dustbin like icon as shown. This will produce the same output as the undo command, but the difference is that you can revert as many steps as available.

To say the least, CTRL + Z and CTRL + Y are the undo and redo global actions for any Windows program. So, what if we want to perform the redo and undo operations on a Mac? If you are thinking about the same, then the following section is a must visit for you.

In Mac operating system, the alternative for CTRL + Z is “Command + Z” and for the redo operation the alternative is “Command + Shift + Z.” The Command key in Mac is equivalent to the CTRL command in Windows.

Also take a note that not every action your perform can be redone and undone. So, if these keys don’t work in some cases, then you might have performed those actions.

[Additional Information]: Some useful keyboard shortcuts.

CTRL + SHIFT+ESC: Opens Windows Task Manager

ALT + TAB: Switch to another running program

ALT + SPACE: Displays the foreground window’s system menu.

ALT + F4: Closes the current window

SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently without placing it into the recycle bin

CTRL + ALT + DEL: Referred to as “Three finger salute” often used to interrupt a function. It provides a bunch of options like task manager, log off and others.

So, this was all about how to undo/redo edits? We hope that this article must have added unique value to your knowledge base.

If this article has helped you in any manner, then do let us know through the comments section. If you have any suggestions or remarks, then those are also cordially welcomed. Also, do not forget to like us on our various social media channels.

How to Use a PlayStation 3 Controller in Windows 10?

This article is all about How to use a Playstation 3 controller in Windows 10. SO, without wasting any time further, let’s get started:

How to Use a PlayStation 3 Controller in Windows 10?

If you are trying to figure out how to use a PS3 controller on a PC? Then you need not look anywhere else; this article has everything that you are looking for.

Step #1: So, in this very first step, you are required to plug in your PlayStation 3 controller device to your system and let the drivers install.

Other than this, you may have to install some other addons or files from Microsoft itself. Many of them might be already installed on your system, but you may need to download or update some like.NET Framework 4.0, Visual C 2013, Xbox 360 PC driver.

Once your system is well equipped with all these, then you now need to download and install software to enable the DualShock 3 on your system.

After you are done with all the prerequisites mentioned, then you are ready to go to the next steps.

Step #2: You might not need this step to be done but just in case if nothing works out, you can try this too.

To enable the DualShock3 on your system, you may need to install the ScpToolkit. You can follow the following link to proceed forward. Click on the download link and once downloaded, follow the onscreen instructions to install the same.

To install the file which you have just downloaded, you require extracting it and once extracted, run the executable file with administrative privileges. Once the installation is done, you will have access to some subprograms like ScpToolkit Driver Installer, ScpToolkit Updater, and many others.

Now, you need to click on the ScpToolkit Driver Installer and run it with administrative privileges. This will open a new window for you and on the new window; you need to make sure that all the checkboxes are checked.

After this, head towards the section where “Choose DualShock 3” is written. Click on it and from the drop-down menu that follows; you are required to select your DualShock3 controller. Once done then you are now required to click on install. Let the process finish and once it is all done then you will now have your DualShock3 as a plug and play device.

Step #3: Now, we have our basic things with us. If you are lucky enough and your settings are done right then, you might have a working set of PlayStation 3 Controller. If not then you have to go through the tricky part to use the PlayStation three on your Windows system. So, let’s see how it goes:

1) Begin by navigating to the start button and then click on it. Alternatively, you can press the Windows key. Both will have the same effect. Once you have done the same then, you are now required go to the settings option.

2) Once you are on the settings button, then you now need to click on the “Update and Security” option. This will open a window for you.

Now, from the left pane of the subsequent window, you need to choose the Recovery option.

3) Now, you will be within the recovery window, so, you now need to go on Advance startup option. This will make your system restart as you will have to click on Restart now, and with the system reboot, you will have your advance startup options with you.

Now, from the options, you are required to select “Troubleshoot.”

4) After choosing troubleshoot, your next step would be to navigate to the Advance Options. Under Advance Options, you will have to go to startup settings.

This will again make your system restart and when your system is done restarting then you will have the list of startup things which are prone to change.

5) Now, you are just a few steps away from finishing the tricky part. All that you require doing is to locate the “Disable Driver Signature Enforcement.” Once you have located the same then, you need to disable it. To do so, you need to press F7.

After doing all the mentioned, you will now have to restart your system, and you can now enjoy using PlayStation three on your Windows 10 system.

If you want to know How to Use a PS3 Controller as a Joystick for Your Windows PC? Then you are required to read it a little further.

To use your PS3 controller as a Joystick, you will have to make use of a third party installer. The chances are that you might have heard about it. The name of the installer is MotionJoy. You can download it from here. You are also requested to download the appropriate installer according to your Windows architecture i.e., 32 bit or 64 bit.

Once you have downloaded the mentioned, then you now need to extract the file and launch the executable file. This will open the installation wizard for you.

Follow the onscreen instructions to install the same. Once you are done with it, then run the application and click on the “Load Driver” option which appears on the first screen. You might get a prompt saying that “Windows can’t verify the publisher.” Need not worry about this and select the “Install this software anyway” option.

After this, within few minutes, you will get a prompt saying that install completed.

Now, all that you require doing is to go to the profile section and then to the connected game controllers menu. Now, you need to click on the “Vibration testing” option to check your device functioning.

If your device is vibrating then, you are done with it, If not then try doing this method again. Also, you can calibrate your device.

So, this was all about How to Use a PlayStation 3 Controller in Windows 10?We hope that this might have helped you in your quest of How to Use a PS3 Controller as a Joystick for Your Windows PC?

If you liked this article, then do let us know through the comments section. We would love to hear from you. Also, share this article amongst your peers.

How to Manage Optional Features in Windows 10?

There are plethora of optional windows features which we can make use of. Like for instance, if you need to record your gameplay video then you need not to install any third party software. All you have to do is to enable the Game DVR feature and use it.

So, if you want to know how to manage optional features in Windows 10 then you are at the right place. This article will make you aware of the prerequisites for the same.

So, let;s start the process:

How to Manage Optional Features in Windows 10?

So, do you ever wanted to know that what are these optional features in Windows 10 are meant for? What are it’s basic functionality? So, in order to get the answer for this quest, you need to read the following text.

So, you know that there are n number of optional features which are available in Windows 10. So, basically many of these are meant for business or enterprise networks while some of them can be used by any user.

To make you aware of this fact that each and every feature takes up some space in your system and you have the privilege to turn them on or off. Also, it is not like that you should install every other feature that is available as this might make your system vulnerable to any mishappenings.

The availability of the features entirely depends upon the version of the Windows you are using. Like if you are using Windows 10 Enterprise version then you will have access to much more features as compared to the Windows 10 Home Edition.

So, here we are with some of the common features along with their respective works:

Internet Explorer 11: Despite the fact that with the advent of Windows 10, Microsoft has introduced a brand new browser called “Microsoft Edge” but it has continued the Internet Explorer 11 version along with. So, it is available as the optional feature in Windows 10. You can turn it on or off anytime you want.

Internet Information Services: It is useful for managing a server as it provides tools for the same along with Microsoft IIS web and FTP servers.

Isolated User Mode: This mode allows any application to run in a secluded, dedicated space if ever it is programmed to do the mentioned.

Media Features: These features include Windows media player and you can enable or disable it any time.

Microsft Print to PDF: This is quite a useful tool. You can print a document to PDF by using this feature. Like all other features, you can disable and enable it.

Game DVR: All the game enthusiasts, this fetaure might be of some use for you. This can be a great feature for those who make Gameplay videos. This feature allows you to record your game play. Also, you can make use of this feature not just to record games but also to record anything else on your system. So, this is indeed a great feature.

Hyper- V: Do you run a virtual machine over your Windows System? If yes, then this feature might be of some use for you. Hyper-V helps you in managing, creating and using virtual machines.

Embedded Shell Launcher: Want to replace the Explore.exe shell with a custom shell. FOr doing that, you require the Embedded shell launcher. This might come handy for the tech savvy folks out there.

Along with these there are plethore of other features like .Net Framework 3.5, DIrectPlay, MSMO server and many more.

So, let’s see how to manage Windows 10 optional features:

Step #1: In this very first step, you are required to go to the settings option. For this, you will have to go to start menu and then click on the settings option. This will launch the settings window for you.

If you have done this then you are good to go to the next steps.

Step #2: Once you are at the settings window, then you are now required to click on the “System” option which is usually the very first option. This will take you to another window.

Now, to know what to do next you will have to read further.

Step #3: Now, on the Window which you have got as the result of your recent activity, you need to navigate to the left pane of the window. Now, locate “Apps & Features” and once found, click on it.

Step #4: In the subsequent window, you will have to look for “Manage Optional Features” which is positioned just below the “Apps & Features”.

Now, you can manage optional features. So, if you want to see the features history then you need to click on “See Optional Feature History“. It will show you the optional features history of the last 7 days. So, if you have installed or uninstalled any optional feature in the last 7 days then it will be displayed over there.

To head back to the previous page, you are required to make a click on the back arrow icon positioned at the top of the window.

Also, if you want to add any feature then you need to click on the “Add a feature” option next to which a “+” icon is there. Now, you will have to look for the feature which you want to install. Once found, you now need to click on it and then click on the “Install” button which appears.

Similarly, to uninstall the feature, navigate to the feature, click on it and then click on the “uninstall” button which follows.

So, this is how to add and uninstall optional features in Windows 10? We hope that this article must have helped you in your quest of How to Manage Optional Features in Windows 10?

If you liked this article, then do let us know through the comments section. We would love to hear from you. Also, share this article amongst your peers.

How to Check if Windows is Activated or Not?

Whenever you update your Windows, the Windows system never displays any successful activated notification or message. So, the confusion tends to creep in that How can I tell if Windows is activated successfully or not.

Activation lets you know that your Windows is genuine. Usually, when the Windows product key is pirated or is not genuine, the activation process will fail. Even if the Windows activation fails, you can still continue to operate the Windows unless you’re using Windows XP.

Generally, Windows are activated just once when you are first installing your operating system. It is really simple to check your Windows system activation status using different methods. Take a look at How to Check if Windows is Activated or Not:

How to Check Windows is Genuine

Take a look at the steps of How Can I Tell if My Computer is Running Genuine Windows:

Click on Start, then type in “activate windows” in the search box.

In case you get a message saying “Activation was successful,” it implies that your copy of Windows 7 is activated and genuine. You will also see the Microsoft Genuine software logo on the right- hand side.

Checking Online

A lot of validation tools are available online to help you observe and verify the activation of your Windows. Only customers with genuine Windows have access to all optional updates and downloads available from Microsoft.

In simple words, if your copy of Windows is not genuine, then you won’t be able to install many updates that are exclusively for customers with genuine Windows.

For example, when your PC downloads any updates, Windows checks to see if your product key or digital entitlement is valid. You will be able to download and only receive the latest updates from Microsoft if Windows on your PC is genuine. In case you are not able to do so, then your PC is running non-genuine Windows.

After going to link, download the validation tool (Genuinecheck.exe) that is available on the website.

A validation code will be generated by the tool.

In the validation link, copy and paste the validation code.

As soon as you click Validate, the link will show whether your copy is genuine or not.

If it will be genuine, you will be able to download updates from Microsoft easily.

Things to Remember

Note down a few things that will help you buy genuine Windows.

Just remember the simple rule. Only one copy of Windows can be installed on one PC. This rule applies as per the License terms of Microsoft Software.

It happens that after a repair you experience that validation fails because some repairs require reinstallation of Windows. After repair, just re-enter your original product key for proper Windows activation.

Another reason can be Counterfeit software. Now counterfeit can be difficult to detect. You can always file an online report against anyone who sold you counterfeit software. With counterfeit version, all important functions will get blocked and you will not be able to receive any latest updates.

Remember to always ask the seller to give you Windows disc and the Certificate of Authenticity.

Usually, checking the authenticity of Windows becomes a compulsion if you have downloaded a copy of the Windows from a torrent site or it was installed by a 3rd party. However, if your Windows system is running on trial activation key, the system will expire after the trial period.

Conclusion

Usually, we tend to ignore this activation aspect until we face some serious issues or the work comes to halt. It is always recommended to check the status of your Windows, and if required upgrade it as soon as possible. Make sure the product key is actually valid and not counterfeit!

A product key is a 25-character code that is located depending upon how you got your copy of Windows. If you bought Windows from an authorized retailer, the product key will be on a label inside the box it came in or if you bought a new PC running Windows, the product key will be preinstalled on your PC.

However, try to buy Windows or a PC with Windows preinstalled directly from Microsoft or from a trustworthy dealer. Make sure to check the Certificate of Authenticity (COA), a proof of license label, and an edge-to-edge hologram, to ensure the genuineness of the Windows.

The above guide on How to Check if Windows is Activated or Not, provides you with several options. Follow them and check the genuineness of the Windows on your PC. To enjoy unlimited access without any complications, always buy or install genuine Windows and not the pirated version!